Pruitt, Brachman become first Republican appointees to long-term care commission

Neil L. Pruitt Jr. and Judith Y. Brachman are the first GOP appointees to the long-term care commission created as part of January's fiscal cliff deal.

Their appointments were announced Monday, less than a week after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named three people to the commission. Ultimately, 15 people will serve on the panel tasked with advising on how to improve the nation's long-term care system.

In addition to being chairman of the American Health Care Association Board of Governors, Pruitt is chairman and CEO of UHS-Pruitt Corporation. UHS-Pruitt encompasses more than 70 facilities providing skilled nursing and other post-acute care services in the southeastern United States. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the appointment.

Brachman served as director of the Ohio Department of Aging from 1991-1999. She was named to the commission by another prominent public figure from Ohio, Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner. In other government posts, Brachman was president of the National Association of State Units on Aging and held an assistant secretary post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More recently, she served as co-chair of The Jewish Federations of North America's Aging and Family Caregiving Committee. She is a long-time JFNA board member.

More than 300 healthcare workers have complained to the Health and Human Services Department about employers infringing on their religious or conscience rights, a monthly total that increased nearly tenfold.